Gauff holds firm to reach French Open fourth round

Coco Gauff held firm against a streaky Dayana Yastremska to secure her place in the French Open fourth round.

Third seed Gauff, runner-up at Roland Garros in 2022, won 6-2 6-4 against the Ukrainian.

Gauff had a double break lead in the second set and served for the match at 5-2 up before 30th seed Yastremska rescued a break.

American Gauff had to then save a further two break points in her next service game before pushing through to secure victory.

Gauff is bidding for a second major singles title after triumphing at last year's US Open.

"It's important to expect great things from yourself but I'm 20 and I'm hoping to be playing for another 10 years or so," Gauff said.

"Going into the Australian Open I was more nervous in the first couple of rounds, but now it's one match at a time."

Gauff will face Elisabetta Cocciaretto next after the Italian, ranked 51st in the world, beat Russian 17th seed Liudmila Samsonova 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.

Gauff is a natural clay-court player, having won the French Open juniors title in 2018.

She made a strong start against Yastremska, getting an early break against a player who can be dangerous but struggled for consistency throughout.

Gauff took the first set quickly and went an immediate break up the second before Yastremska, serving with more zip, hit back.

Despite an improved performance from her opponent, Gauff went a double break up but struggled with both her attempts at serving for the match.

Three of her four double faults came as she attempted to serve out victory, but she was able to take advance of a fading Yastremska to close out the win in 94 minutes.

Gauff could face a stern test against Cocciaretto, who has beaten two seeded players in her three matches in Paris.

She came out on top in a tough three-setter in the first round against 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and put in another impressive performance against Samsonova.

At 23, she is the youngest Italian woman to reach the last 16 at Roland Garros since Francesca Schiavone in 2001.

"I think I played unbelievable the first games, and after that I was over-thinking," Cocciaretto said.

"I said to myself: play with the heart and not with the brain. It’s unbelievable for me right now.”